It is known and common in the practice of manufacturing vehicle body shells to clamp the body parts by means of clamping frames in so-called framing stations or even in downstream welding stations. These clamping frames comprise a massive frame, on which a plurality of individual clamping units are arranged at the needed locations. A plurality of components can be clamped together with these individual clamping units, and a component flange that is needed for the welded connection and another component clamping contour are formed now. Such a clamping frame in conjunction with a conventional feed device is known, e.g., from DE 38 28 267 A1. Furthermore, it is known from EP 0 760 770 B1 that such clamping frames can also be handled by means of robots and can be fed to the vehicle body.
Stationary clamping device or system, which comprise a plurality of individual clamping units, into which the components are inserted, are used in the construction of jigs and fixtures. Such a clamping means is known, for example, from DE 201 03 412 U1.
The use of individual clamping units in the prior-art clamping means has various drawbacks. Due to their size, the individual clamping units can be arranged at greater distances only, which leads to problems for some clamping tasks. On the other hand, deformations of the components may occur because the individual clamping units are usually closed offset in time and due to the punctiform clamping action. Finally, the clamping units must be opened and then closed one after another during seam welding by means of a laser beam in order to make possible the circulation of the laser beam without obstacles. This may likewise lead locally to clamping problems because of the great distances between the clamping units, especially when the flange of the component is opened and undesired or excessively large gaps are formed as a result between the components. Special problems arise during the clamping of component flanges at openings in the body, e.g., door or window openings. The individual clamping units often fail to satisfactorily accomplish the clamping tasks for the above-mentioned reasons. In addition, they hinder access for machining devices, e.g., welding robots, etc., due to their large space requirement. On the whole, the clamping means equipped with individual clamping units inherently have the drawbacks of having a large space requirement and a heavy weight, requiring great efforts for assembly and adjustment and a correspondingly high price.